Search - reference

 
 
Shinji Aoba speaking during a trial at the Kyoto District Court, in a court illustration
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 15, 2023

Kyoto Animation arson suspect inspired by 2001 attack

The suspect in a 2019 arson attack on a Kyoto Animation studio used gasoline after using a similar incident as reference, a court has heard.
A United Auto Workers (UAW) union member holds a sign to mark the beginning of contract negotiations in Sterling Heights, Michigan, in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2023

U.S. auto talks at 'critical phase' as political pressure grows

Workers at all Big Three automakers are coordinating for the first time, with demands such as a 40% pay increase over a four-year contract.
A document from archives on Pope Pius XII, who reigned from 1939-1958, containing the names of people who were executed during the Ardeatine massacre in Italy in March 1944
WORLD
Sep 17, 2023

Letter shows Pope Pius XII probably knew about Holocaust early on

A letter found in the Vatican archives on the church's knowledge of the Holocaust conflicts with the Holy See's official longtime position.
Pacific Island Forum Secretary General Henry Puna
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2023

Pacific island nations to hold second summit with Biden next week

Henry Puna of the Pacific Islands Forum said the region had gone from a period of neglect to one of strategic interest, competition and "manipulation."
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference last Wednesday following a Cabinet reshuffle.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 20, 2023

Kishida may reveal priority areas for economic package next week

The size of an envisaged fiscal 2023 state supplementary budget to finance the economic measures will be a major focus, informed sources said.
Leaves of marijuana plants from which hemp fibers are extracted at Japan's largest legal marijuana farm in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 5, 2016
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 21, 2023

Does a university cannabis scandal point to a larger trend?

A drugs scandal at Japan’s biggest university draws attention to a troubling statistic: Cannabis use among young people is on the rise.
Prominent Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed on the grounds of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in British Columbia, Canada, in June.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2023

India-Canada clash should be a wake-up call on diaspora extremism

Western countries are failing to keep the radicalization of certain migrant communities in check. They have much to lose.
Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda is the first Japanese driver in Formula One since 2014.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 30, 2023

Foul-mouthed Yuki Tsunoda becoming cult star in Formula One

Tsunoda's foul mouth and devil-may-care attitude have inspired a cult following and an international appeal.
A Ukrainian drone pilot, call sign Darwin, operating a first-person-view, or FPV, drone on a test flight near Kupiansk, Ukraine, on Aug. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

Ukraine’s war of drones runs into an obstacle: China

Ukraine's latest fight is one over global electronics supply chains that run through China.
A pedestrian walks past a mobile recruitment point located to promote service in the Russian army and invite volunteers to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry, in a street in Moscow on May 3. The slogan reads: "Our profession is to defend fatherland."
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2023

Russia deploys 'punishment battalions' in echo of Stalin

Drunk recruits, insubordinate soldiers and convicts are part of hundreds who've been pressed into Russian penal units known as "Storm-Z" squads.
A screen shows this year's winners of the Nobel Prize in chemistry — U.S. chemists Moungi Bawendi and Chemist Louis Brus and Russian physicist Alexei Ekimov — during the announcement of the winners at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on Wednesday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 4, 2023

Three win chemistry Nobel for work on quantum dots

Nanoparticles and quantum dots are used in LED lights and computer screens and can also be used to help guide doctors removing cancerous tissue.
Mysteriously suspended on the water of the Fugan Canal in Kansui Park, Hiroko Kubo’s “Mountain Dogs” (2023) are made from materials that reflect the industries of Toyama.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 7, 2023

An introspective Go For Kogei turns its attention to Toyama

The craft-art festival focuses on the historically industrial city to explore the Hokuriku region's crafts in an urban setting.
Dendrobium orchids — highly sought after due to their use in traditional Chinese medicine — growing in the wild in Nepal.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Oct 8, 2023

The orchid obsession: How science and smuggling meet in a global trade

Love of the flowers has a dark side, with the desire for rare varieties underpinning a robust illegal trade believed to have wiped out entire species.
New Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe (right) poses with former manager Tatsunori Hara during a news conference on Friday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Oct 9, 2023

Shinnosuke Abe hoping to join special group of Giants managers

Shinnosuke Abe is hopeful of guiding the Giants back to the Central League summit.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks during a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington on Oct. 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

Defense chief retracts comments implying LDP vote would be good for SDF

Article 61 of the Self-Defense Forces Law explicitly forbids SDF personnel from engaging in political activity, with the exception of voting.
The pronoun you choose when referring to yourself can give off a definite vibe, so be careful in your choice.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 20, 2023

Which pronoun should I take?

Depending on the situation, you may need to use two or three different pronouns for yourself when speaking Japanese.
Nurses and university students majoring in nursing hold up signs that read "Nurse act", during a protest against President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoing a nursing act that defines the roles and responsibilities of nurses, in Seoul on May 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 19, 2023

Why South Korea has so many protests, and what that means

Born during South Korea’s difficult march toward self-governance in the 1980s, protest rallies are a fixture of Asia’s most vibrant democracy.
Labyrinth organizer Russell Moench sparked controversy with transphobic tweets, leading booked artists to pull out of the highly regarded electronic music festival’s 2023 edition.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 20, 2023

Art and politics clash at Labyrinth 2023

A controversy surrounding the prestige electronic music festival sparks an old debate over separating art and the artist.
Ashleigh Surma (second from right) assists Elva Case (left), Linda Lupe (second from left) and Joycelene Johnson in recording indigenous languages during the ICILDER 2023 Conference in Bloomington, Indiana
WORLD / Society
Oct 20, 2023

Tech breathes new life into endangered Native American languages

Of the more than 6,000 Indigenous languages recognized globally, nearly half of them are at risk of disappearing.
Smoke rises over buildings in the Gaza Strip on Saturday amid Israeli strikes.
WORLD
Oct 21, 2023

At Cairo summit, U.N. chief urges cease-fire to end Gaza 'nightmare'

Addressing a Cairo summit, Antonio Guterres said the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people was living through "a humanitarian catastrophe."
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Palestinian groups.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

Fears grow that Israel-Hamas war could spread across Middle East

Tensions surged as the U.S. said it was sending more military assets to the region and Israel appeared poised for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Traders are betting that the Bank of Japan will almost certainly end its negative interest rate policy by early next year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2023

Rising bets on BOJ policy move shift focus to ‘neutral’ rate

This theoretical rate that neither stimulates nor restricts the economy is likely somewhere in a wide range of 0.5% to 2%, according to analysts.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida listens as Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Kenta Izumi speaks in parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 24, 2023

Tough questions for Kishida in parliament over spending plans

Japan’s main opposition party began its scrutiny of Kishida's economic stimulus package as the country struggles with inflation and stagnant wages.
Munakata Shiko's "Oshira-sama: The Flying Silkworm Deities" (1968)
CULTURE / Art
Oct 26, 2023

Major retrospective traces hero's journey of 'Japan's van Gogh'

An exhibition of Shiko Munakata's works shows evidence of a charismatic character and a career that reflects Japan's changing relationship with the West.
A banner at the entrance to Shibuya’s Center Street makes it clear this is no place for a party.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 26, 2023

The specter of Itaewon has Shibuya spooked

One year on, Elizabeth Beattie joins us to discuss where Itaewon stands after its Halloween disaster, and what its legacy means for celebrations in Japan.
A woman walks past newly unveiled lettering that references the Oct. 29 Itaewon crush in Seoul. A more fully developed memorial was later built to commemorate the event and the more than 150 people who lost their lives.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / Longform
Oct 27, 2023

One year on, Itaewon's scars remain

A year on from the Itaewon crush, foot traffic in the Seoul neighborhood is picking back up. But what the future of the area is still in doubt.
The remains of the music festival near Israel's border with Gaza where Hamas militants opened fire on civilians.
WORLD
Oct 28, 2023

How the Hamas carnage unfolded on Israel's 'Black Shabbat'

The attack was meticulously planned for months right under the nose of Israel's vaunted military intelligence services.
Trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura (front right) speaks during a meeting of Group of Seven trade ministers in the city of Osaka on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2023

Eyeing China, G7 calls for 'immediate repeal' of bans on Japanese food

The ministers, after meeting in Osaka, did not mention China but denounced what they consider its rising economic coercion through trade.
The Bank of Japan is holding a two-day policy meeting through Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 30, 2023

Ueda faces market fallout risk as BOJ mulls yields, prices and yen

In a sign of just how fraught the discussions on policy may be, BOJ officials are likely to monitor yield movements until the very last minute.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen weakening below ¥151 to the dollar on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 1, 2023

Japan ramps up yen intervention warning after BOJ-fueled sell-off

The broad decline toward ¥152 to the dollar has the currency around the threshold that a year ago drove Japanese authorities to swoop in to prop it up.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?